I have rather particular views of Valentine's Day, and I attribute it gratefully to my family. Every Valentine's Day, my dad would show up with heart shaped boxes for each of his three daughters, typically wrapped in brown kraft paper in such a way that the heart shape was still evident. Even since I left for college and beyond, almost every year one of these heart shaped boxes arrives in the mail. (If you haven't guessed already, those hearts were full of chocolates.) The boxes are my dad's act of his fatherly love for his daughters on Valentine's Day.

Then there's my mom. Like with every holiday, her home cooking reflects the celebration. Green mashed potatoes and corned beef on St. Patricks Day, tree-shaped rolls on Christmas morning, and hearts, pinks, reds, and sparkles on Valentine's Day. Sometimes notes in lunchboxes too. All gifts of familial love, from mom.

It is exceptional that I grew up this way. In my life, Valentine's Day has always been a day, not just for romantic love, but for expressing all kinds of meaningful love. As a girl who was basically always single until I met my current husband, I never spent a Valentine's feeling like I was alone or unlovable. That's a big deal.

I suppose I just want all my family and friends to know that I love them so much, and I'll use Valentine's Day as an excuse. Will you ALL be my Valentine? :)

Thanks for shaping my views like that mom and dad. You do good work ;)

Here are some not-necessarily-romantic cards for any kind of Valentine:

Tolstoy Everything because of Love Print from Raw Letter Press

Fatherly Love and Big Mama greeting cards from Heavenly Creatures Art

I've always had a thing for elephants, and these cards are gorgeously done. Great for a mom or dad for Valentine's Day. Don't understand why? You need to know more about elephants!